“He thought that what he was going to do was what had to be done to keep us safe,” his father said.

Thompson’s body was scheduled to be flown to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware Saturday. His father said he planned to make arrangements for funeral services to be in Rome.

Blair Thompson moved around a lot as a boy after his parents split up. His mother, Arena Young, lives in Vernon.

Thompson began his high school years at Holland Patent, but by his sophomore year, he was living with his dad in Rome and began attending RFA.

On Saturday morning, Thompson’s death was announced at the RFA graduation, and the ceremony paused for a moment of silence. Many graduates and district staff members wore yellow ribbons in his honor.

His friend and Class of 2010 senior class president Jeremy Aiello said he found out about the death the night before.

“I’m really filled with mixed emotions — excited about graduation and yet sad,” he said. “He was my best friend.”

‘Wanted to serve’

It was at RFA that Thompson first entered JROTC, a high school program sponsored by the military.

Friends and family members said he knew from a young age that he wanted to join the military.

“He always wanted to serve,” friend Liz Aiello said.

That desire began when he was 12 and his older brother, Sean, joined the Army, Vincent Thompson said. Sean, 24, returned to the area Saturday from his base at Fort Detrick, Md.

After graduating, Blair Thompson entered the Army.

In January 2009, he graduated as a private from the Direct Fire Infantryman One Station Unit Training at Fort Benning in Columbus, Ga., according to O-D archives. The training consisted of basic combat training and advanced individual training.

Loved paintball, hockey

Friends said Thompson enjoyed playing paintball, loved hockey — his favorite team was the New Jersey Devils — and could often be found playing his Xbox with his younger half-brothers Noah, 9, and Gavin, 6.

Friends also remembered how mischievous he could be.

“He would do anything and everything to cause some innocent ruckus,” said former classmate Eric Benfrey, now a college sophomore at Buffalo. “He was always trying to make people laugh because he cared about them. Some people are social, but for Blair, he genuinely wanted to be around people.”

Della Pray, who was his adviser for JROTC, described him as a “jokester.”

“I remember his smile,” she said. “When he smiled, you knew he was up to something.”

But she said she would most remember his dedication to his country.

“He was definitely a patriot,” she said. “And there’s no doubt that he died doing what he wanted to do.”